Skate park to open Saturday

James McIntire tests the new skate park in Pomeroy while Timothy Tice finishes up cleaning the inside of the smaller bowl. The skate park has two bowls, and Brewce Martin and Jackie Welker are hoping to expand the park whenever they receive more grant money. Lindsay Kriz | Daily Sentinel

Ground broke for Pomeroy’s newest attraction, a skate park, on Oct. 13 of this year and was finally completed Saturday, Dec. 5, with a grand opening set for 1 p.m Saturday, Dec. 12. Brewce Martin said this will be a healthy activity in which locals, especially children, can partake. Lindsay Kriz | Daily Sentinel

POMEROY — After months of preparation, Meigs County’s newest attraction, a skate park in the heart of downtown Pomeroy, will officially open for business at 1 p.m. Dec. 12 with a grand opening celebration.

Brewce Martin, the man behind Skatopia in Rutland and Racine Skate Park, said that since he received the call from Pomeroy Mayor Jackie Welker earlier in 2015 about the project that progress has been made quickly. Welker said the grant for the skate park was around $30,000 and provided by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

After receiving the OK, Martin said he went down to the spot for the park — a spot of land near Pomeroy’s fire station and basketball court — and began to plan. Ground was first broken Oct. 13 of this year. Martin said that aside from drawing up plans and digging out the area for the park, the team had to put in the wooden transitions, set the rebars, or reinforcement bars, and pour what Martin described as “100 yards of concrete” over multiple days.

The park was officially completed Dec. 5. The skate park, which Martin and Welker hope to someday expand, has areas called transitions and two “bowls,” or pits, about the size of swimming pools to allow skaters to perform. One of the bowls has been aptly named “the peanut bowl.”

Along with Martin, James McIntire and Tim Tice, both of Rutland, and kids have already had the opportunity to test the park and have given it two thumbs up. As the men worked Wednesday to clear out some of the mud still in the area from digging out the pits, they took some time to skate. Martin said he’s excited for the rest of the community to hear about the grand opening, and hopes that others, including his own family, can make the event.

“Hopefully my son is going to come and just destroy it,” Martin said.

He added that in spring 2016, he’s hoping to put together another skate park in Middleport, and is excited to see Pomeroy’s open later this week.

“It’s great that Meigs County has three Skateboard parks now,” he said. “It’s awesome because kids don’t have to play video games all the time; they can get out there and do something. That’s all we want. We want something positive … We want people to be happy and enjoy it.”

Welker said that he’s excited for the village to receive something like this in the community.

“It’s tremendous in a town this size to have that nice of a facility,” he said. “We’re hoping it’s just a start; I envision that whole area becoming a nice usable centerpiece — not just the skate park, but other recreation equipment and, of course, adding onto the skatepark. I imagine a nice, green recreation area in the middle of town.”

James McIntire tests the new skate park in Pomeroy while Timothy Tice finishes up cleaning the inside of the smaller bowl. The skate park has two bowls, and Brewce Martin and Jackie Welker are hoping to expand the park whenever they receive more grant money. Lindsay Kriz | Daily Sentinel

http://mydailysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_IMG_2514-001.jpgJames McIntire tests the new skate park in Pomeroy while Timothy Tice finishes up cleaning the inside of the smaller bowl. The skate park has two bowls, and Brewce Martin and Jackie Welker are hoping to expand the park whenever they receive more grant money. Lindsay Kriz | Daily Sentinel

Ground broke for Pomeroy’s newest attraction, a skate park, on Oct. 13 of this year and was finally completed Saturday, Dec. 5, with a grand opening set for 1 p.m Saturday, Dec. 12. Brewce Martin said this will be a healthy activity in which locals, especially children, can partake. Lindsay Kriz | Daily Sentinel

http://mydailysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_IMG_2511-001.jpgGround broke for Pomeroy’s newest attraction, a skate park, on Oct. 13 of this year and was finally completed Saturday, Dec. 5, with a grand opening set for 1 p.m Saturday, Dec. 12. Brewce Martin said this will be a healthy activity in which locals, especially children, can partake. Lindsay Kriz | Daily Sentinel